Not as bad as the reviews make it. On the whole, an okay film for a matinee when you’ve got nothing else going on — it’s enjoyable on that level. The main problem is directorial. I’d bet money that this movie would have been awesome if Spielberg had done it using the same script with little or no change.
by Samuel Fuller
The autobiography of an independent film maker back when independent film making wasn’t chic, or profitable.
I know him best from his movie, The Big Red One, which I love as a movie about how war is like for the grunt. The grand opera of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers is all well and good, and it serves its purpose — but The Big Red One? It shows you the absurdity of it all, the sheer confusion an infantryman feels, not knowing the reasons behind a beach landing here, a town razing there.
Fuller had an amazing life, and part of it is that virtually all the weird and corny scenes in The Big Red One were firsthand experiences from his time as an infantryman in the US Army’s 1st Division, The Big Red One. What I never knew and was amazed at was his experience in the newspapers, first as a paperboy, then as a gopher, then as a crime reporter at the age of seventeen. Seventeen! He then traveled America during the Depression, then experienced World War II, and afterward? Afterward, he spent his life writing scripts, books, and making movies, about his own experiences and about the harsh realities that are invisible in big productions.
It’s a wild story, and if the details aren’t true, the emotion is.
by Linda Evans
Guy gets pissed off at Odin, decides to go find his ass and kill him.
That’s the short of it. It’s an entertaining little story, though the ending suggests a sequel that would suck horribly if it were written (no, really). As it stands, a decent story. Does a decent job of explaining the Norse mythology to those who are not familiar, but the representations of these Norse myths — this I am not as sure about. I have my own ideas about how to portray Odin, Thor, and the rest, so that sort of conflicted with this author’s viewpoint a little. Still, nice read.
The book is in the Baen Free Library, so you can read it for yourself gratis.
by Michael Z. Williamson
The first half is about a young woman fleeing the United Nations worlds to the world of Grainne, home of The Freehold, where the entire society is dedicated to very Libertarian principles. It is an interesting look on a society where each individual is responsible for their actions and all actions hold an economic value — not exactly Utopia, but certainly interesting. The second half is when the UN tries to destroy The Freehold because of its success, then it becomes a military science-fiction novel, which it really does on a so-so level. The exploration on the unique society is far more satisfying.
The book is in the Baen Free Library, so you can read it for yourself gratis.
Go see it. Now.
Loved this film… halfway through, you forget about it being a CGI-film, even a Pixar film (enough of the director Brad Bird injected into it that the realism within the fantasy he brought to The Iron Giant is very much present). Instead, you think of it as a superhero/spy film with class, pizazz, and a great storyline.
This’ll be a must buy on DVD for me.
by C.S. Forester
A much faster series to read, with far more “”hi-jinx”", if you will. The truth is, Hornblower is a cold fish. His character is nowhere near as alive as Jack Aubrey or Stephen Maturin, but his adventures are far more satisfying in a fantastical sort of way (Hornblower pretty much saves the world as we know it). Odd, that. Like the Aubrey/Maturin novels, I have my favorites and would not read the entire series as a whole again.
by Patrick O’Brien
On the whole a very satisfying series of 20 books which took me about four months to cover (some of it was damned slow reading). I have to say many were correct in that The Far Side of the World and Master and Commander were the best of the lot, and hence were fused together to make the movie that bears both books’ names.
The best part of the series is really the growth of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, from young to old, and an ever deepening friendship between the two. The series as a whole? Quite good. Would I read the entire series as a whole again? No. I have my favorites, and I’ll keep to them.
I signed up for the Sunday edition of the New York Times. I always wanted to, anyway.
Last night the kitties decided they wanted to sleep with us on the bed. Robber, who slept in the carrier, popped up, turned a couple of times, then curled up on Sun’s belly. Copper, who would keep Robber company in the carrier or end up collapsed on the pillow just outside it (big brother’s gotta watch out for kid sister), ended up sprawled on the bed against my chest.
Of course, this was at around four in the morning. Before that, they kept us awake by scrambling about the room.
Yawn.
So the kittens showed up Friday night. Sun’s coworker Betty was adopted by a stray, who later turned out to be pregnant. Back in September 24, the cat gave birth to a litter of five. Last Monday Sun and I drove to Alhambra and visited the kittens. We settled on the oldest one, a large, yellow one that was friendly, and the smallest one — a gray kitten we barely saw due to shyness on its part.
When Sun showed up on Friday she had changed her mind about the oldest kitty — I guess it was suffering an upper respiratory infection already, based on Sun’s explanation of her symptoms and lethargy. She picked another yellow one, but kept with the gray kitten.
Yesterday we named them Copper and Robber; Copper’s the yellow one, a boy, weighing in at about 1.5 lb. Robber’s the small gray one, a girl. I haven’t gotten a chance to weigh her yet, but she’s probably a little over a pound.
Copper is a bundle of energy that won’t quit, and has increased in size noticeably in the last 36 hours (actually, so has Robber, her head doesn’t look so big anymore). Last night he was able to jump onto the bed, compared to 24 hours previous when he’d give it a go and not make it.
Robber remains shy and sticks to corners and shadows, very much like her thievish name (Copper is meant for her coat, but I couldn’t help the pun — I secretly call them Crockett and Tubbs, which Sun shot down). She’s a bit of a problem. Copper’s already figured out the litter box. Robber knows about it, but I think her smaller size makes it difficult to judge the jump down and climb out factor of a top-opening litterbox. We’ll have to add more litter to increase the level so she’s more comfortable about it… and I mean soon. She’s dumped onto the skirt of the bed twice and peed on it once. And once on my slipper, which I guess is either ruined or in bad shape.
They are both flea-infested — a gift from their mother. They got baths Saturday morning (just Johnson & Johnson’s baby shampoo), and I’ve combed them three or four times now… probably drowned/squashed about 60 fleas so far. I’m sure there’s tons more, but the smaller ones — the big ones are gone.
Hopefully the bath broke the reproductive cycle by killing the eggs. Faux hardwood (no cracks) makes it harder for the eggs to avoid detection on the ground (and easy for a vacuum to suck up), so with some luck we’ve nipped it in the bud. Now it’s a matter of grooming them repeatedly until they hit 8 weeks of age; then they go to the vet for 100% delousing and their vaccinations for worms, et al.
They’ll probably be sequestered in the bedroom for a month or so (definitely until Robber gets over her anxiety about the litter box). After that, the rest of the apartment will open up to them (pray for the new couches).
Yes, yes, they are indeed two bundles of joy. Pictures forthcoming and all that.
November 15th, 2004 at 9:55 pm
Linus – What’s the catch? Free iPod sounds too good to be true…
November 16th, 2004 at 7:46 pm
Catch 1: You need to subscribe to one of their offers – I did the New York Times Sunday Delivery
Catch 2: You need five referrals that complete the offer